In the 29th instalment of the series, 'Hum Adani Ke Hai Kaun' (HAHK), the Congress party asked three questions to prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi about central role played by Gautam Adani's elder brother Vinod in Adani group affairs, including Adani group's relations with Mauritius-based Elara India Opportunities Fund and Chinese national Chang Chung-Lung.

In a release, Jairam Ramesh, member of Parliament (MP) and general secretary for communications of Congress, says, "…the sixth in a sub-series titled 'Dikh Raha Hai Vinod' about to the central role played by Gautam Adani's elder brother Vinod in Adani Group affairs."

Here are the three questions asked by Congress to PM…
(1)   A news report shows that the Mauritius-based Elara India Opportunities Fund is the co-owner of the Bengaluru-based defence firm Alpha Design Technologies. While Adani Defence Systems and Technologies owns a 26% stake, the Elara Fund owns 25.65% directly and via an intermediary firm. Recall that, as of December 2022, the Elara India Opportunities Fund held Rs24,600 crore of equity, of which an unusually high 99%—amounting to Rs24,335 crore—was invested in Adani Enterprises, Adani Transmission and Adani Total Gas. Alpha Design builds electronic warfare systems, radars, optronics and communications networks for the Indian Armed Forces and ISRO. Should an opaque offshore fund, whose ultimate beneficial owners are unknown, be permitted to own a major stake in a sensitive defence firm? If the Fund is, as accused, a stock parking entity for Vinod Adani and his associates, should the government not demand total transparency about the origins of its funds?

(2)   There are additional concerns. Chang Chung-Ling (aka Lingo-Chang), a Chinese national, has been a director in several Adani group companies along with Vinod Adani. In 2005, Chang declared the same residential address in Singapore as Vinod Adani. His Singapore-based firm Gudami International was named by the directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) in its investigation into the Adani group’s diamond trading scam in 2013. Gudami was also named in enforcement directorate (ED) charge-sheets relating to the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter scam in 2014 and 2017 before being mysteriously dropped in 2018. Furthermore, Chang is accused of smuggling petroleum products to North Korea in violation of UN sanctions using a Panama-registered oil tanker that had been part-financed by the Shanghai Adani Shipping Company. Should a person with dubious financial links to a Chinese national be permitted to play a role, benami or otherwise, in a strategic defence company?  
 
(3)   Elara has more disturbing associations that make it unfit to invest in India’s defence sector. The notorious stock manipulator Ketan Parekh (aka KP) has a long association with the Adanis, with SEBI finding in 2007 that “promoters of Adani Group aided and abetted KP entities in manipulating the market.” A close relative of KP has worked with Elara Capital, the parent company of the Elara fund. Elara also is known to have had a relationship with the chartered accountant Dharmesh Doshi, a Parekh associate who absconded from India in 2002. With this record of involvement in nefarious stock market activities, how did Elara get clearance to invest in a firm like Alpha Design Technologies? Are you sacrificing India’s national security interests for the financial interests of your cronies?

Read about previous questions here…
Congress Asks 3 Questions on Vinod Adani's Role in Adani Group's Global Transactions
Congress Asks 3 Questions on Central Role Played by Vinod Adani
Congress Asks 3 Questions on Adani group's Business Interests in Sri Lanka
Congress Asks 3 Questions on Handing over Food Grain Logistics to Adani Group
Congress Asks 3 Questions on Chang Chung-Ling's Relations with Adani Group
Congress Asks 3 Questions on Adani Monopoly in Airports and Electricity
Congress Asks 3 Questions on Adani Group's Relations with Chinese National Chang Chung-Ling
Congress Asks 3 Questions on Adani Defense and Its Activities
Congress Asks 3 Questions on Loopholes in Amendments To Coal Mines Act
Congress Asks 3 Questions on Adani Group's Links with Global Kleptocratic Network
Congress Asks 3 Questions On SEBI, NSEs Failure To Review Inclusion Of Adani Group Scrips In Key Indices
Congress Asks 3 Questions About Alleged Misrepresentations by Adani Group on Vinod Adani
Congress Asks 3 Questions on Alleged Efforts To 'Bailout' Adani Enterprises' FPO
Congress Asks 3 Questions on IOC Agreement for LPG Facilities in Adani-owned Gangavaram Port
Congress Asks Questions on Shell Entities Allegedly Used in Adani Group Operations
Congress Asks 3 Questions on Adani Group's Defence Sector Ventures with Israel
Congress Asks Questions on Adani Power Projects in Bangladesh, Jharkhand
Congress Asks 3 Questions on Adani's Monopoly in Ports, Airports
Congress Asks Questions on Ketan Parekh-Adani Group Links, JPC Probe